David D'Souza
The following is a list of people who are useful to follow if you are interested in HR, L&D or anything that is a bit like caring about people.
Qualifcation: they have to interact and be interested in relevant topics.
Please add to this list - it was designed to by dynamic, I just started it off with people I'd recently interacted with. Don't take offence if you aren't there - you just aren't there YET. If you do get added then please take time to add someone else on
A natural and prolific curator, source of information and support to many. Increasingly producing wonderfully detailed blogs on a wide range of topics .
Best selling author (Humane, Resourced was all written by me, even the chapters written by other people), Social Media Guru, the best speaker TED has yet to book, Consultant extraordinaire, possibly HR's Messiah, possibly THE Messiah and now Boris Johnson's boss. It's amazing what you can get away with if you are writing your own bio.
When I first came onto Twitter I encountered a sense of momentum from Merv that is genuinely rare. Sort of like PJ O'Rourke only in 140 characters. His blogs are inflammatory and excellent, his network draws other interesting people in and when this guy has a point, he has a point. Also an incredibly caring and good guy.
Great blogs, passion flowing through every word. Fun, supportive, interesting and cheeky. Huff - what were you playing at? Gem is pictured here with the Artist Formerly Known as HRTinker or TAFKAHRT.
Every blog that Kate creates is full of thought provoking wisdom. Every comment on Twitter is supportive. If work didn't get in the way Kate would be an even more impressive social media HR professional. Since people create work the conclusion is Kate would be even more of an expert on people if it weren't for the daily distraction of people
Battles with MJC for the title of nicest man on Twitter. A certified geek in more than one modality and proves that you can work ridiculously hard and be limitlessly positive if you really love what you do. (good taste in footy teams too)
When I first started tweeting I assumed Perry was an automated tweeting machine. In fact he is as human as can be, but the fact this guy is a big influence in New Zealand means he should have had pride of place in the Huff list. International superstar. Now known as #conferenceman for his near ubiquitous live tweeting/presenting from events
A genuine nice networker with no agenda except interest and a desire to contribute. What he says is always worth mulling over and his contributions to Storify show his 'socialness'. UPDATED: Tim blogs now and he does it well, really well
You have 140 characters in a tweet. A picture paints a thousand words. Everytime he shares a picture it counts as 7.14 of your tweets. And then people share it. He basically owns Twitter through the medium of art
He's challenging, charismatic, secretive and blogs in a straightforward way with no nonsense allowed. He has been sitting on one of my blogs for a month - otherwise he would be higher. Even though this isn't in rank order. (PLEASE NOTE: since the publication of this list his real identity has been revealed, amazingly he looked just like the picture, he's been hiding in plain sight).
Fun, serious, even tempered, cheeky, insightful, passionate, reflective. Seriously, what isn't to like? Lovely reflective and provocative blogging
He blogs infrequently but his last was one of the most open, heartfelt and constructive you might ever like to see. And I think he might be Robin to MJCarty's Batman. I heard a rumour, just a rumour, that his band is magnificent too.
Neil is on all of the actual lists...When I first started on Twitter he shared my CV, shared my first blogs, gave me a hand up. Then he left me to my own devices. He rarely replies to my tweets, except to say something enigmatic like 'maybe'.
He occasionally tweets something like 'you are all kidding yourselves, you are all rubbish, and yes I mean that person -you know who you are' and then just disappears leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
He blogs directly, confrontationally and with genuine challenge in every sentence.
Define 'social': Ok, when I was first on twitter I set out a tweet saying I was in London the following day and what would people suggest I do. 24 hours later I was having coffee with Doug at the Royal Academy discussing art (my contribution largely improvised) and HR (similar). He tweets, he challenges, he fights bears (possibly), he plays guitar and he blogs. That there is the full set of awesome things. And he is always learning. Doug is the stimulus offered by coffee with no need for coffee
Has the most excitable and infectious approach to SocialHR . Total HR geek with class. Passion and energy directed into making CIPD Manchester as modern and brilliant as it is today.
There is something very special going on here and everything that is shared is infused with energy and attitude. Street Art and HR? That is a great take on the world...
Is he Social? Yes
Is he in HR? Apparently
Does he share great quality links and also contribute? Very much so. Possibly one of the wisest and most generous people on Twitter. go and check how many people are on Twitter and then reflect on what that means
Sometimes he exudes a kind of graceful wisdom that transcends not only HR but this entire mortal realm. Other times he is ranting as though something he saw in a training room is a threat to the very core of our values. Whichever he is doing he is caring and fun. Keen interest in positive psychology and behavioural economics too.
A man who genuinely crafts blog posts rather than blurting them out. Some are accompanied by graphs. You know it is serious if there is a graph involved. Deals with the world of work rather than just HR. Generous with his time and intellectual energy.
Really thoughtful blogs, clearly worded and challenging thoughts and concepts with a razor like precision. And quite tall so I had to put him in here. I only recognised how well regarded Neil is within the 'workplace' profession when I was chatting to someone at an airport and they repeated the sentence 'So you've actually met THE Neil Usher?' three times before I could convince them it was true.
This morning she tweeted that she wanted to scrap performance reviews TODAY. I sort of think she meant it. Your feed will be better for having her in it. Really honest and open writer.
Digital communications manager for the CIPD. Supportive, curious, fun in person and seems to find everything interesting which is a wonderful and underrated trait. At the heart of lots of good things.
The St Jude of twitter. Admired for so much, but mainly for his love of seemingly lost causes which include trying to get leaders in the NHS to use social media and Sheffield United. Former Mr "most influential HR bod on the planet" and prolific blogger.
Cheeky, fun, good bloke, knows his stuff, cares deeply about what he does. Easy to work with. Item as described. Delivered on time. Five stars. Recommended.
An Irish lady who is passionate about HR. She is looking to set trends for the next generation of HR, innovatively changing the working world. Enthusiastic, chatty, knowledgeable and likes to do an Irish jig!
